Containers or cases are used to carry many types of articles. For example, there are carrying cases for cellular phones, portable electronic appliances such as compact-disc (CD) players, and sunglasses. In addition, purses and wallets may be thought of as carrying cases for money and credit cards. The purpose of such containers is to conveniently carry a particular article and to protect the article from damage. Other containers are dedicated to carrying articles much different from those mentioned above. For example, chalk bags are used by rock climbers to carry chalk in an easily accessible manner.
The conventional containers mentioned above are designed quite specifically to carry a particular article. In addition, each container utilizes a specialized closure mechanism. It follows that the containers do not operate in accordance with a universal closure principle. If a single manufacturer were to fabricate a variety of containers, then each particular container would require a different and dedicated manufacturing process. Accordingly, the cost of manufacturing the containers in this situation would be high.
Regarding the closure mechanism itself, many of the closure mechanisms require two hands to operate which is undesirable in most circumstances. In addition, it is the closure mechanism that ordinarily wears out over time and breaks before other elements of the container. It is well known that by reducing the number of moving parts typically increases the reliability of a particular product.
In view of the foregoing, there remains a need in the art for a container that is easy and inexpensive to manufacture, and for a container with a reliable and streamlined closure mechanism.